Microbiome engineering using light-activated synthetic cells

Developing tools to understand and manipulate interactions within the microbiome is
of vital importance for studying human health and as future therapies. Synthetic cells,
gene-expressing compartments assembled from simple, modular parts, can be used to
communicate and manipulate natural cells. We have previously generated lightactivated
synthetic cells that can modulate the expression of neighbouring bacteria by
synthesising quorum-sensing molecules in-situ, following illumination. In this project,
synthetic cells will be engineered to detect and modulate changes in bacterial colonies
with the ultimate goal of spatiotemporal microbiome engineering.